New grant launched to help local businesses reduce their energy bills

A NEW grant is being launched tomorrow (March 15) to help small businesses cut their energy bills.

The Green BELLE project can provide grants of £1,000 to £10,000 to eligible small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for energy-efficient improvements to their premises.

Green BELLE stands for Green Business Energy in Leicester and Leicestershire.

A launch event – where businesses can find out more – takes place tomorrow at the Phoenix digital media centre in Leicester, from 9.30-11am.

The project is being run by the Leicester Energy Agency, which is part of Leicester City Council.

Green BELLE grants can be used to support a wide range of low-carbon and energy-efficient measures, such as installing efficient heating systems, low-energy lighting or insulation.

SMEs can also get a free survey, which will give them advice on reducing their energy use. The results of the survey can then be used to support an application for a Green BELLE grant.

Assistant city mayor for energy and sustainability Cllr Adam Clarke will speak at the launch event, along with Cllr Pam Posnett from Leicestershire County Council and Jonathon(corr) Little from the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.

Cllr Clarke said: “These grants give SMEs the opportunity to become more energy-efficient, saving money on their running costs. It also helps them to contribute to our plans to become a low-carbon city.

“We’ve invested heavily in initiatives like district heating and switching to LED streetlights because we recognise the importance of building sustainability into the infrastructure of our city. Now we want to welcome small businesses on board and show them that becoming more energy-efficient is not only good for them, it’s good for Leicester and good for business.”

Green BELLE is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). To apply, all applicants must be an SME, trading business-to-business and situated in Leicester or Leicestershire.